Assam’s Purnima Devi Barman features in Time Magazine's 2025 'Women Of The Year' list
Assam’s Purnima Devi Barman features in Time Magazine's 2025 'Women Of The Year' list
Digital desk: For her outstanding work in animal conservation, Indian conservationist Purnima Devi Barman is featured in Time magazine's Women of the Year 2025 list. With 12 other international honorees, Ms. Devi Barman of Assam is the sole Indian woman on the esteemed list.
Purnima Devi Barman was born in the Kamrup area of Assam and graduated with a Master's degree in Zoology with a focus on Ecology and Wildlife Biology from Gauhati University. Ms. Barman witnessed a tree owner remove a nest with a larger adjutant nest in 2007 while conducting research for her PhD in 2007. She took a break from her PhD to educate the locals about the stork's ecological significance after realizing that many didn't like its appearance and scavenging activities.
Ms Barman, known for leading various conservation initiatives, formed the "Hargilla Army," a committed organization of women, with the goal of turning wildlife protection into a grassroots movement while empowering communities. She has also served as a Senior Wildlife Biologist at Aaranyak, where she oversaw the broader adjutant conservation project. She is also the Director of WiNN India and a member of the IUCN Stork, Ibis, and Spoonbill Specialist Group.
To safeguard the stork, Ms. Barman began by modifying people's perceptions about the bird. Sixteen years after she began working for its conservation, she now leads a band of over 10,000 women known as the "Hargila Army" who protect the birds' breeding grounds, rehabilitate injured storks, and even hold "baby showers" to celebrate the birth of infants.
Her efforts resulted in the stork being moved from endangered to near threatened status under the International Union for Conservation of Nature categorization. Ms Barman's efforts have not been restricted to saving the stork. Her efforts have also empowered women by providing them with weaving looms and yarn, allowing them to manufacture and sell fabrics featuring motives of the hargila.
Ms Barman got the highest civilian award for Indian women, the 'Nari Shakti Puraskar', from former President Ram Nath Kovind in 2017. In the same year, she was presented with the Whitley Award, often known as the Green Oscar, by Anne, Princess Royal of the United Kingdom. She was also featured in National Geographic India.
